Andhra Government Cites Lab Report In Row Over Animal Fat In Tirupati Laddoos

Hyderabad: 

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has slammed rivals YSR Congress and his predecessor, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, over a lab report about animal fats in ghee used to make laddoos offered as prasadam, or devotional offerings, at the temple town of Tirupati.

A July 17 report from the Centre of Analysis and Learning in Livestock and Food, or CALF, lab at the centre-run National Dairy Development Board in Gujarat, released Wednesday, said it found animal fat in ghee used to make the famous Tirupati laddoos when the YSRCP was in power.

The report indicated the ghee contained traces of fish oil, beef tallow, and lard; the last is a semi-solid white fat product obtained by rendering the fatty tissue of a pig.

“Even Tirupati laddoo was made with substandard ingredients… they used animal fat instead of ghee,” the Chief Minister raged at a legislature party meeting in Amravati the day before.

He declared his government has ensured a higher quality of ingredients, including ghee, is being used now, and that that all food offerings at the iconic temple were now of improved quality.

Mr Naidu’s son and Andhra Pradesh IT Minister Nara Lokesh also joined the attack.